Scarfs and Coffee
by Dark Cascade
Summary: For Christmas Mark and Roger get many things. This first tells the tale of Mark's scarf and ends in a story of two people who have to figure their life out. Together. This is the beta-d version. Yes, I beta-d it...Note in last chapter.
1. Mornin'

**Again, this is my beta-d version of Scarves and Coffee. I sent KT this huge thing of chapters to beta for me, and this was in there. The rest of it will be out soon.  
The original explanation is below. I liked it so much I wanted to keep the damn thing.**

**_And the date this is going back to is the Christmas right before they met Angel and Mimi. A lot of this needs to be explained. In this, Mimi and Roger don't get together. (You'll get why when I put the sequel out soon.) And also, Maureen doesn't date either of them. She gets introduced a while after this. It goes quick at the beginning, but gets a lot better_.**

I don't own anything. M/R Yumminess is a widely held turn on...I don't own that either.  


**  
--Mark's POV--  
**No one had any idea where I got my scarf. So I've decided to go back a year. A year before we met Angel. A year before Mimi hit on Roger, and Joanne graced us with occupying Maureen, and four months before said Drama Queen moved in.

It was Christmas, and on any year before would just drink 'till we couldn't remember our names and go to bed (like any other night we had), but this year we had money. Collins got some for us. I didn't ask how. I never do.

Roger and I went to the store a couple days before Christmas and bought our gifts quickly with the 40 bucks we both had. Once shopping was completed, we went to the Life Cafe and spent what we had left on a great amount of food. Now we sat on the couch drinking Collins' favorite drink, Stoli Vodka. He got huge amounts for tonight. Once again, he gets it, I don't ask how.

Right at midnight on Christmas Eve, we opened our gifts, already slightly tipsy. Collins went first.

Roger got him this black beanie thing, and yes that's the one he never takes off. I got him cigarettes and a book on Ancient Philosophers.

Roger and I opened his to us second.  
I got some film and a mug. I needed film. I was working on the beginning stages of 'Proof Positive' and I was in dire need of film.

Roger opened the package and the strong smell of coffee beans filled the loft, and now that I think about it the smell never really left completely. Collins had gotten him coffee. A whole hell of a lot of it too. We're not even out of it a year later.

"Ok, Rog. On three." Roger and I sat in front of each other, holding onto our presents.

"One... two... THREE!" We both shredded the paper off the boxes.

"Marky! Oh, I needed these and sheet music… nice idea." Roger told me and gave me a little half hug. I had gotten him three extra guitar strings and a classical music sheet. It was called Muzetta's Waltz. Once I saw it, I thought of Roger.

"Roger! Oh my gosh. I love it." In my hands I held a long scarf that I would have to wrap many times around my scrawny neck to keep it from dragging on the ground. It was _my _scarf. The one I wear. All. The. Time. No questions asked. Well. This is kinda the  
reason. Roger got it for me. I love it, even thought a year after I got the thing it's old and dirty.

The rest of the night dragged on and by two, if you would have asked me anything at all the answer would have been many slurred made-up words including "ufdiufgnnnnfddd", "hhhhsaaaahdhssssssiiioooowsss" and 'fffrrrrgooooottttnnnnsssss", followed by a fit of giggles and a look to Roger's keeled-over self. He laughed with me too. Even though he was the one who normally asked the questions.

I woke up that morning with a horrid hangover and I could barely tell my surroundings. I couldn't tell whether it was because of the pounding in my skull or the fact that I was actually _in _another room. I turned my head to go back to sleep and heard a groan from that immediate location. Roger's room. I very nearly fell off the bed.

"Maarrrkkk... lay the fuck back down." Roger growled.

"Roger, why am I in here?" I asked, although I was repositioning myself in the bed to get some more sleep.

"You prolly just went to the wrong room this morning. Go. Back. To. Sleep. Now." he rolled over and snored softly.

_--5 1/2 hours later—_

_  
_**(Roger's POV) **

I woke up.  
I don't particularly like this part of my day.  
The light in my eyes, the prospect of actually getting up, exerting energy, and attacking the hangover I have from the massive amounts of alcohol I consumed earlier. These things make for a pretty shitty start of a morning. So I wanted to extend it. I turned over in the bed and hit something I wasn't used to being in my bed. Mark. My best friend. He wasn't supposed to be there. Nope. Not at all.

I don't remember anything about last night.  
Holy shit! Did we? Could we hav-

"Rog?" He broke me out of my thoughts.

"What, Mark?"

"Oh. You're awake. Finally. I've been up for fifteen minutes." he told me.

"Marrrkkkk. Why didn't you make coffee?" I groaned.

"'Cause I was trying to go back to sleep, but since you ran into me, rather rudely mind you, I couldn't." I attempted to get up. A sharp pain went down my spine. I winced. Mark got this really worried look on his face.

"I'm okay. Let's get up."

"Yup. I'm gonna go get dressed." We both jumped out of the bed. We were only wearing boxers. Strange.  
Mark left my room and as soon as I heard the click of his door closing, I heard Collins' booming voice.

"Mark?" He asked.

"What, Collins?" The blonde came out of his room. Damn, he changes quickly.

In my room I pulled my plaid pants on over my boxers, and tried to listen to the conversation outside my door.

"Collins, what are you talking about?" Mark, obviously.

"You heard me, boy. Which one hurts more?"

"Collins, thanks to you, I always have a hangover. Dude. I seriously have no clue what your talking abou - " I came out of my room trying to struggle on a half-decent t-shirt.

"Maybe Roger will." I gave up on the shirt and looked over at Collins.

"What? Roger'll what?" I asked. Mark listened intently.

"Which one hurts more, Your head or your ass?"

**--  
You know that sounded a lot funnier written down...**

**TBC  
Dark Cascade**


	2. Captain Crunch and Bombshells

**So, guys...here we are again. Second chapter is defiantly not as good as the first. blah. That sucks.  
Anywho...  
Beta-d by KT.**

**I don't own.**

**  
--Mark **

I choked on my Captain Crunch.

Roger's eyes got wide and he started to stammer. I think I heard him right.

The little voice in the back of my head was screaming in triumph.

I hate that little asshole.

It's odd how he knows, always knows, what's best for me, though. Hmmm...

"Collins. What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" His eye twitched. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. That hurt. It's one thing to not want to sleep with me. It's another to not remember and then talk bad about the experience.

"Hey!" I started to voice my opinion. "It's not like I'm not a good lay!" I looked at my cereal and laughed. They laughed too. The tension broke.

We needed to talk about it. We did, but right now we won't. Not after I just woke up and have a horrid hangover. Nope. It's way too early to talk about anyone's sex lives right now. We are to go about our day, which I'll be the first to admit doesn't consist of much. We'll talk later. Later, when the information has soaked in. Later enough so I can think about this.

As I said before, our lives really don't consist of much. By three we were all were sitting on the couch. All of us thinking three separate places in the loft were fascinating to look at.

Roger tried to start the conversation about twenty times.

"Collins," Finally! Gosh. "What happened?" He said it a lot calmer then I though he would.

"Well... uhh... errggg... umm...," He looked at me, winked and cleared his throat.

"Umm. Well. We got really drunk and _I _went to bed. You," he looked at Roger accusingly.

"You, Roger, didn't want to go to bed. You wanted to 'stay up'" Did he? Oh, yes. He did just use air quotes.

"Uggggggh… " the guitarist groaned. "Now I know what we did!" He didn't look disgusted. He looked more like he accidentally let something out that he shouldn't have.

"So... uhh ...What happened?" I asked.

"You said some pretty deep shit last night." Collins says to the man with his head in his hands.

"Okay, guys. Stop, rewind, and tell me what happened." More then what I already knew. My mind is foggy. It's early!

Somewhere in my head, it fell into place and I got it. I was just hoping that Collins was going to say anything other then what I knew he was gonna say.  
Surprisingly, Collins stayed quiet and took up his old interest in the ceiling. I turned to Roger.

"Mark...Ithinkwehadsexlastnight." He said it quickly. Or I get that I can be slow, but this I don't get. Saying things fast doesn't faze me. Never has.

The asshole in the back of my head said, 'Okay, _now_ we're talkin'!' I smacked him back.  
'Are you saying you _wouldn't_ have liked it if you were sober and remembered?' The voice chuckled and I made a side note to get a shrink soon.

"Roger. I'm not completely stupid. I remember the conversation we had earlier! How do you know?" I pointed to the teacher beside me. He just laughed.

"Well. To give it to you straight: You guys are really, really, _really _loud." He was still laughing when he finished.'

I blushed.

"Okay, boys. I'm gonna leave you alone. I will be getting the alcohol for tonight's festivities." He winked at me and walked out of the loft with his jacket.

Collins. Left. He left me alone with my roommate. A male roommate. Whom I had sex with the night before. Well, fuck.

"Uh..."He started.

"Why doesn't my ass hurt?" I blurted out. Damn me and my thinking-out-loud-ness!

"What?"

"I'm not that dom... and you're not that... okay, I _know_ you're not that submissive!"

Roger seemed to have taken a whole other approach to the conversation.

"Mark. You're thinking about who was on top and you didn't think it was me?" I just stared at him and thought, 'Conceited much?'

He clarified.

"Me. Roger. Roger, HIV-fucking-positive-Davis?"

Quick! Someone cue the bombshell!


	3. They Say Silence Is Golden

**Again wiht the explanation.....I don't wanna...**

**Beta=KT  
I don't own...  
Rest of the RENT fics up soon.**

**--Mark  
**  
"Yeah. Shit." I ran my fingers through my hair.

"No fucking kidding." Roger breathed and stood up. He started pacing.

"Roger." I almost got his attention.

"Roger! Calm down. Stop pacing." I caught it this time and he turned to me, awaiting a reply.

"What does this mean?" Roger looked at me.

Blue to Green.

Then there was the spark.

**--Roger **

He felt it too. Shit...The stupid spark. Then too.  
I thought as I stared into Mark's eyes for moments too long to count.  
Okay, I have to admit it, to at least myself. I like Mark. I really do. He's been there for me when nobody else bothered.

Especially during withdrawal. When he's there it's not as bad. Me being held in his arms while he strokes my hair, it helps a lot more than anyone could attempt to imagine. He's helped me through the nights when I can't take it anymore. The nights when I want to go just get a hit. One hit, just to stop the pain wracking my body every day.

He's the only one that helped. April is long since gone and dead. She killed herself in our bathroom. Our bathroom, Mark and mine. I won't even go in there anymore. Not until I get the look of her face and the note on the mirror out of my head. Until then, I will never go in there. See, people thought April and I were always together. Hip-to-hip. Actually, in the nights after one of my shows, I would seek out the blond filmmaker first. Then, if April just happen to find me before I left, we would talk. It's not like I left Mark. I got high with the redhead before the show and ended the night with my best-friend as the high of the gig still flowed through me.

The gist of it is: Mark is there. He's the only one of us that can stand on two feet and not fuck up. But now I don't know.

We fucked, so I'm fucked.

Technically, he's fucked too.

"So..." I tried to break the silence.

"Yeah..."

"You need to get tested, Mark." God. I'm. An. Idiot. Officially.

"Yes I do, but when? The clinic isn't even open on Christmas. I don't think it opens back up 'till the New Year." He said.

"You're right." I told him,"It's not open."

"But as soon as I can, Roger." He promised. Silence...

I don't wanna talk about what happened. Okay. Yes I do. I just don't know how to start one of those conver-

"So? We gonna talk about it?" He shook me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, we should, but Mark? How do we do this?" He looked at me and motioned for me to sit. I did so.

"I don't know what happened last night and I don't know why, but we need to figure it out."

"Figure what out? Mark?" I'm confused.

"This out, Rog. Look. Are you attracted to me?"

_Hell yeah_! The voice in my head told me.

What came out of my mouth was something like, "I don't know."

_Oh, so you can't even tell him the truth now? You know lying to your best friend isn't good, especially now_. Stupid voice.

"Yes or No, Roger." His voice kind of shook a little. You know, faltered.

"Yes. OK, Mark, yes. Hell yes!" I breathed that all out, and looked down.

"Well. That's saying something. Roger?" I looked up at my prompting.

"What?"

"I think I like you too." He blushed. He's cute when he blushes. I was ready to shoot the little voice and realized that was my own head talking. Funny.

"And if last night was any indication... then..." He trailed off muttering something to himself.

So we got it out in the open. Now what? Do I kiss him? Relationships aren't what I do. I'm Roger Davis for Pete's sake. The rock-and-roll-god, Okay, former rock-and-roll-god. I still get the groupies. Sometimes. After April there hasn't been any. I've never been in a serious relationship. April was... a... bad thing. A momentary lapse in judgment.  
But Mark, my best friend. Now he _can't _be a lapse in judgment. It's all-in with him.

So...what do I do now?


	4. The Couch Is Your Friend

**Last chapter of this one. The sequel will be updated as soon as a I get this done. Hope y'all like this...I love feedback as you know. So leave me stuff. **

**: D...Thanks KT.  
**

**I don't own.**

**--Mark--**  
So. It's not like I'm waiting for him to kiss me or anything. We're just friends standing around in our flat. Um... no. It's gotten more complicated.

Okay, I do want him to kiss me now. Badly. I mean, I had sex with him.… I like him. I want him to kiss me. I want to do what we did last night again. Preferably when we are both sober and can actually enjoy it.

_Not that your drunk self didn't enjoy it_. Stupid fucking voice. Hate!

It's odd though. According to Collins, I was on top. YES! Oh, yes. I get to be the dominant one in this relationship, for once!

"Ok... so? What now?" I ask. Several moments later is when I got the reply. Roger was still standing.

"Mark… close-c-close your eyes." He says it so softly I had to strain to hear him.

"Roger - " I start.

"Mark. Just do it, please?" He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. I closed mine as told.

I heard a sigh of relief as he found out I had done what he asked. Seconds later, Roger's lips were pushed onto mine. My hormones did a jig, then responded. Responded a lot.

I hate these moments. You know the ones where you're dying to get into the other person's head? I want/need to know if me responding like this is going to drive him away. I know he kissed me, but I need to know!  
I found out right quick. He pushed on my lips urgently. And in mere moments, I was on my back in a full-blown make out session with Roger.

_Now, this is how you spend Christmas day. Making out with your best friend in plain view of the comers and goers of the loft. Granted, that's only Maureen and Collins, but once Mo knows something juicy, everyone in the tri-city area will know in a matter of hours. Crazy how much time she has to talk to people_.

This is better then what I was doing earlier.

"Mark..." Roger moaned.

"Mmmhhmmmphh…?" Came my educated reply. He pushed off of me and stared at me.

"Mark… I have feelings for you. I think I have for a while." he said.

"I have feelings for you too." I said.

"Well, I think we need to see where this relationship goes." I nodded and he smiled at me.

"I agree." Pause. "You know, you're really cute when you're being all official." I say to him.

My hand wonders up to his face and I run my pointer finger down the side. It's scruffy. I laugh. Roger turns so he's laying beside me on the couch and wraps his arms around my stomach.

Roger smiles at me and his gaze drifts towards the gifts on the coffee table in front of us.

I grabbed my scarf.

"So you like it?" He asks. I don't know why. Anything Roger gets me I'll love.

"Yes, Rog. I love it. I'll wear it always."

We sat in comfortable silence as Roger played with my hair and I played with my scarf.

"You know. This could come in handy some day." He was eyeing the fabric in my hands.

_Dirty_.

I looked at him and he only winked and muttered a half-hearted 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,' before shutting his eyes...


	5. Note

**So...Yes, another author's note. **

**Read this all through guys, please?!?!!**

**Thanks**

And the sequel will be up soon. 

**Love you!**

**DC  
**


End file.
